Wednesday, November 20, 2013

Just wanted to let you know that I have not given up blogging. I had been sick with some sort of virus for the last three weeks. The doctor finally put me on antibiotics. I'm now starting to feel human agan.I got some hand work done. I didn't spend anytime in my sewing room because I was so weak. I will show you the hand work later this week.Yesterday for some reason I felt like going through some boxes in the basement. After Dad passed away and I came back home I had boxed my sewing room and brought it home. I went through boxes and found more fabric, thread and magazines I had forgotten about. But best of all I found the Dear Jane blocks that I had made years ago...4 years ago to be exact. I was so happy to see them.I promise to get back with you later this week. I've got some cleaning to do in the sewing room so I can start to work on some projects. Hugs, Cathy

Friday, October 18, 2013

How much I love Autumn? Today has been such a beautiful Autumn day. The sun is shining and the colors are glorious.

We took Sammie out to Wolcott Mill Metro Park for a good work out. We thought the workout was for her...but we are the ones that got the work out. I'll show you some pictures of the park but first I want to show you what I have been working on.

I came to the party late....I didn't see Lori @ Humble Quilts latest QAL until the third round. I'm pretty busy with other projects but I did want to do a smaller version of Lori's block.

I had this chicken blocks and was always going to make more and have a queen size quilt. Best laid plans..... So when this project came along I thought this block would be perfect. The red borders has these spots that remind me of eggs. The pieced border was made up of triangles that were trimmed from projects. I save them in a box and when I have a bunch I used them in other projects. The 3rd border is chickens. My quilt measures 13" and will fit perfect on my table quilt stand or on the wall in my kitchen by my chicken collection. I have 2 tiny buttons for the eyes that I will add after I quilt it. Thanks Lori for another fun QAL. This is something I will definitely do again.I got caught up on my Hip Chicks BOM (Joined at the Hip).

I am surprised that I have been able to keep up with this. It is going to be a nice quilt when finished.I also got a couple of table runners made for Christmas presents.

They are the same size but at the angle I took the picture, one looks longer than the other. Does it look familiar? I made another one earlier and have a picture on my left side bar.Now for our walk. Wolcott Mill Metro Park is a bit of drive but on such a beautiful day it was enjoyable. We took a longer drive to get there that took us through the country and down dirt roads. All of a sudden my husband stopped and said look what is in the front yard of this house.

At first I thought he meant the pumpkins...then I saw them. PEACOCKS!!! Then Sammie saw them too and started barking and they took off running.

This is the mill that the park is named after. We've been here many times. Once a year they have a quilt show.

I love how they decorate the mill buildings with Scarecrows.

After we checked out the mill we went for a walk. They have quite a few hiking trails. Sammie took us on a real hike.

It was such a lovely walk. The trail for the most part was covered in leaves and went up and down some hills.

We came across this tree that was hollowed out at the base. There were all these tiny mushrooms. It looked like a fairy garden.

On the way back to the car we missed our path and ended up in a field that had this mess covering it. We almost stepped on this cute fuzzy caterpillar.

That was the end of walk. Sammie didn't want to get in the car while Terry and I were dragging our butts and couldn't wait to get in.

I'll leave you now with this picture. I loved how this leaf was shining against all the brown curled up leaves.

Friday, October 11, 2013

I guess it is because I'm an Autumn Baby. My birthday is the 14th of this month. We celebrated Autumn by going up north and visiting my son Patrick, his wife Courtney and my granddaughter Ashley.I always like to take up gifts when we go to visit. I took Ashley a container of cake mix to make 3-2-1 Micro wave cakes.This is what I took up to Courtney.

Ashley and I hung it on the table quilt hanger I got Courtney last Christmas. She was so surprised.I've got lots of pictures to show you from up north but first I want to show you a few projects I've worked on since we got back.

These are a sew of the Japanese X block swap I belong to. These are October blocks.

These are the next installment of blocks for Joined at the Hip BOM.Now for some up north pictures.

Patrick got a dog a few months back. Roxie is a Red Fox Lab. She's 8 months old and loves to play. She thought Sammie was a new chew toy. They had lots of fun playing together although Roxie backed her into a corner a few times.The first two day's in Marquette it was sunny but windy. The rest of the time it rained. Luckily I got some pictures with the sun shining.

Lots of color up there, and as you can see a lot of trees have lost all their leaves. It was really beautiful.We went to a little park down by the lake. This is a special place for me. My Mom and I would go there on picnics when ever we would go to Marquette for our day out.

I just love it when the waves are crashing on the beach. It is such a beautiful spot.

Standing on the beach you could see the Marquette Lighthouse.

Thanks for sticking around to see all my pictures. We were only gone 5 days but it felt like a month. On our way home we stopped at a rest area for one of Sammie's many potty stops. Couldn't resist taking a picture of these.

The neatest group of mushrooms. I've only seen mushrooms like this one other time when I was living with my Dad.I hope you are enjoying a truly wonderful Autumn. Thanks for stopping by.Hugs, Cathy

Sunday, September 29, 2013

Yippee....I have 3 finishes to show you. They may be small, they may not be perfect but they are finished.Autumn is here in Michigan. I was in the mood for Pumpkins.

The first pumpkin is a Heart to Art Pattern. I made one for myself a few years ago. This fits perfect on my table frame and will be a Christmas gift for one of my girls.

I also made one of these for myself. This one is a pattern by Black Mountain Quilts. It is approx. 10 1/2" square and will also fit on the table frame. I just need to add a bow to it. Another Christmas gift for one of my girls.If you remember....last year for Christmas I gave each of my daughters, daughter-in-law's and almost daughter a table quilt stand and 2 quilts to hang on them. This year they will get at least 2 new quilts for the frames.I finished the felt Christmas Tree quilt I won from Raspberry Rabbits. It was my first time working with felt and fabric.

I hand quilted around the tree with red floss and the borders in black floss. Then I free motioned machine quilted around the tree. The machine quilting is less than perfect but since it was done with white thread you really can't see it to well. This one is mine and it too will fit on my table quilt stand.We've had some beautiful weather lately...that is until this morning. I woke up to gray skies and off and on drizzle. So I made bran muffins (Jiffy mix) and ham and cheese omelets. Then we took my hubby's car over to my daughter Kim's house. (Some one at her apartment complex took the front bumper off her car...hit and run. Her car was parked.) After we dropped the car off we went to the park to take Sammie for a walk.I didn't take my camera. Wish I had since there were so many Geese, Swans, and Snowy Egrets. Sammie was going crazy with all the different smells. She ran this way and that way and dragged me all over. I guess she has an ultra sensitive nose. Then it started raining and we had to leave. Thank goodness. She almost pulled my arm out of the socket.Going to get some sewing done now while I watch the last game of the Tigers season...until they go to the playoffs.Hope you are having some sunshine where you are...if so send some my way. Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your weekend.Hugs, Cathy

Friday, September 27, 2013

You know there is nothing better than to wake up to Sunshine!! The weather has been beautiful. It puts you in such a good mood. In my case a sewing mood.I have a few projects in the worksThe first is the Raspberry Rabbits kit I got a few months ago.

I trimmed the applique block and added borders to two sides. I got it all basted as you can see. I've started hand quilting it and should have it done this weekend.

I've been working on myBOM's. The first is the August Country Threads Block.

This is the 12" Block.

And this is the 6" block. Don't know why they are so fuzzy.The next BOM is from Almost Amish BOM.

I just printed up the patterns for the next 3 blocks for the Hip Chick BOM. Hope to have something to show you this weekend.

While going through pictures for this post and came across some pictures of a park in Chessening, MI we visited while camping. Hope you enjoy them.

As you can see it was such a beautiful day and a very serene place.Well I'm off to my sewing room to work some magic...lol Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful weekend.Hugs, Cathy

Wednesday, September 18, 2013

I've been so busy I haven't had time to blog.I do have some quilty pictures to show you and then I'll show you what else I have been up to.

These are the August Bee Blocks. I only had to make one set to mail off to the August Queen.

Remember I won a shopping spree at the Raspberry Rabbits. Well I took the Christmas tree pattern with me and got the tree finished.

I think it turned out pretty darn good. I just need to trim it and then add the pieced border.I was reading my favorite blogs a few weeks ago and one of them was Don't Call Me Betsy. She had designed a quilt called "Color My World". It was published in Quiltmaker Magazine and she now has the pattern for sale. You can see it on her blog. Here is her version.

Here is my version.

I just need to make 2 more blocks. I'm hopping to get them made today. My quilt will be approx. 50" x 50". I entered a few giveaways and actually won 2 of them.The first was from Kyle of Timeless Reflections.

I've seen these domes before and thought they were complicated. But I tried it and it is really easy to use. Since I love hand quilting it is nice to know I can pre-thread needles and place them in the dome and keep them close by.My second win was from Mary at Sea Quilts. She designs quilt with a Beachy feel to them.

I plan on starting this after I finish Color my World.A couple of weeks ago we went to a Cider Mill with my daughter and her family.

We picked apples, tomatoes and green peppers. It was a beautiful day. That is my lovely daughter.Then the hot weather came and I wilted. Didn't even feel like quilting...I know that is terrible. So we decided to go camping.

Here is our campsite. We were lucky that this one was pretty big.

This is one of the small lakes there. Hubby went fishing there and Sammie took an unexpected swim...lol.

Speaking of Sammie...She loves camping. So many squirrels, birds and other dogs to bark at. And ooooh the new smells.Well I guess I've pulled on your ear enough for one day. Thanks for stopping by.Hugs, Cathy

Tuesday, August 27, 2013

Saturday, August 24, would have been my Dad's 92 birthday. We lost Dad in 2010. Well to celebrate his birthday Terry and I went on a picnic with my Baby brother Steve and my sister-in-law Dawn at Kensington Metro Park. We had a nice time. Good food and good conversation. I brought along a photo album of pictures I took while I was Dad's care giver. They hadn't seen them. After we had lunch we went over to the Nature center and then took a walk around the lake and through the woods. Here are some of the pictures I took.

This color of this Goldfinch just popped against all the green.

I've got this thing for mushrooms and fungi. Don't know why but I do.

These turtles were on the other side of the pond. My brother spotted them first. I was really happy with how the picture came out from such a far distance.

This beautiful Sandhill Crane was just sitting by the Nature center. There are signs all over that say don't feed the cranes. We learned the hard way last year when they chased my husband trying to get food from him...lol

These butterflies were every where. So beautiful.

There were lily pads all over. These were close to the board walk along one side of the lake.

You can see above how many lily pads there were. If you look real close you might just see a Blue Heron. There were quite a few flying around.

We couldn't have asked for a better day and we plan on doing this again real soon.

I got a little sewing done. I stress little because it has been so hot that even with air conditioning in my sewing room I dripping.

Here is Dear Jane Block 4....

And Dear Jane Block 5....I also make a 12" x 12" memory quilt that I was commissioned to make. Can't really show it to you because of the pictures.Other than that....Oh I forgot. I won a giveaway from Kyle at "Timeless Reflections". I won a Clover needle dome and some needles. I'm so excited.Other than that not much going on here. To hot and humid to do much.Hope your week is going well and thank you for stopping by.Hugs, Cathy